"On a daily basis OMC has employees working hard to offer excellent clinical care. Further, we have many employees who take great pride in providing important support services that are essential to our work of taking care of patients,” says Dr. Kennedy. "We are pleased to recognize six of those employees in May.”

Chris Shaw, Lead Therapist – OMC
Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation

Chris Shaw, lead therapist and
clinical supervisor at Olympic Medical Center’s Physical Therapy and
Rehabilitation in Port Angeles, received recognition for his direct patient
care as well as his work in blending clinical processes with the technical constructs of Epic, the
electronic health record installed a year ago. According to Gloria Andrus,
operations manager of physical therapy and rehabilitation, Shaw is a skilled
and caring clinician who has earned distinction among his peers. "He works
closely with management to streamline processes, provides leadership for the
therapy program in the clinic and treats patients
with skill – we are fortunate to have him as a key part of our physical therapy
and rehabilitation clinic,” says Dr. Kennedy.

Sally Rowland, Credentialing
Specialist – Medical Staff Services

Sally Rowland, CPMSM, CPCS, a
certified credentialing specialist in Medical Staff Services, earned
recognition for continuously providing excellent service to Medical Staff,
while working on projects that have enhanced the efficiency of the department.
For example, Rowland’s work on creating a SharePoint site for medical staff committee
business has saved the department approximately 15 hours per month in document
processing. "Sally is friendly, warm and outgoing, and she’s willing to tackle
projects that improve the service provided by Medical Staff Services,” says Rhonda
Bowen, medical staff services manager. Dr. Kennedy adds, "Sally is a strong
steward for OMC, and looks for new cost-effective and efficient ways of doing
the work.”

Diagnostic Imaging Employees

Three members of the Olympic Medical diagnostic imaging
department received recognition:

·Alyse Johnston, mammography services assistant

·Karla Newgard, sonographer

·John Eiriksson, MRI technologist

Johnston has proven herself as a meticulous employee who
follows patients through the entire process of their care. "After a screening
mammography, she performs the task of calling patients to schedule additional
imaging tests,” says John Troglia, director, diagnostic imaging. "She works
with sometimes anxious patients
and helps them through this process to put them at ease. She is attentive to safety, working to ensure patients receive
any needed follow-up in a timely manner. We really appreciate having her on our
team as she offers outstanding service to our mammography patients.”

Newgard specializes in sonography of the breast, and demonstrates
consistent attention to quality processes for our breast procedures. She has
helped spearhead improvements. "Karla speaks up for safety and makes a
difference in optimizing the care and experience for each patient,” says
Troglia. "She is one of five sonographers that work many nights, weekends and
holidays on-call supporting our emergent and urgent patient care, and she is
very dedicated to providing the best service to her patients.”

Eiriksson, with years of experience as an MRI technologist,
is diligent about patient safety. "There are many safety checks and processes
in place, and as a technologist John plays a critical role in providing the
final checks,” says Dr. Kennedy. "Patients don’t always recall they have pacemakers
that shouldn’t be in the magnet. John is careful to ensure a safe patient journey
through every MRI exam.”

April Leadership Award

Dr. Scott Kennedy recognized Julie
Black, safety manager, Olympic Medical, with the Leadership Award at the
monthly department leadership meeting in April. "Julie exudes enthusiasm and
dedication to providing a safe environment for patients and employees at
Olympic Medical, and she works very well with others to achieve this result.
She continues to embrace educational opportunities to increase her expertise in
the matters of hospital safety and disaster preparedness,” says Kennedy.

Olympic Medical Center (Clallam County Public Hospital
District No. 2) is a comprehensive, award-winning health care provider for more
than 70,000 residents of Clallam County. It has served the community since its
establishment on Nov. 1, 1951, and is governed by a seven-member, publicly
elected board. Olympic Medical is a sole community hospital and rural referral
center, and a charter member of both the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (2003)
and the Swedish Health Network (2011). Olympic Medical provides inpatient
services at its 80-bed acute-care facility in Port Angeles, including a
level-three trauma designated emergency department, surgical services, and labor
and delivery. OMC’s outpatient services include cardiac, imaging, physical
therapy and rehabilitation, laboratory, sleep medicine, surgical services, home
health, physician clinics and comprehensive regional cancer care at locations
in Port Angeles and Sequim.